PROJECT

U.S. 380 Improvements

The Strategic Roadway Plan for Collin County, Texas, identifies major transportation needs that may improve mobility and accommodate future growth.

Developed in 2016 by leaders from the county, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the plan tasked TxDOT with continued study of U.S. 380, a busy six-lane arterial that had been boxed in by explosive commercial and residential growth in North Texas.

Our team was promptly tapped to develop an illustrative route study map, showing how a freeway could be constructed with new location bypasses avoiding the most congested parts of U.S. 380. We then were selected by TxDOT to do a feasibility study for the complex corridor.

For the U.S. 380 Collin County Feasibility Study, we started with the goals of increasing capacity, relieving congestion, supporting economic growth and improving safety. The study assessed projected travel demand, identified feasible routes, and determined the design and right-of-way needed to convert U.S. 380 into a freeway across the county.

Client

Texas Department of Transportation

Location

Collin County, Texas

Region

Southwest

Service

Transportation Planning & Policy

Industry

Transportation

Reaching out to a wide audience.

The team implemented a robust outreach process to engage stakeholders, elected officials and the public in examining more than 100 alignment options. The team led three rounds of public meetings at multiple locations and conducted more than 150 meetings with agency partners, stakeholder cities, county leaders, residents, and business and property owners. The team addressed more than 18,000 comments, with only 4% of respondents in favor of the no-build alternative. Using ESRI ArcGIS Pro, the team geocoded each respondent’s address and grouped them by city, neighborhood and proximity to discern trends, identifying underrepresented communities in which our team would go door to door with bilingual project information to encourage project participation.

Narrowing down the options.

The number of alignments was quickly narrowed to five, which were advanced for more detailed study until a single recommended alignment remained. During the process, the study team identified potential environmental constraints for avoiding and minimizing impacts, including utilities, equine therapy facilities, landfills, flood plains, public lands, historic resources, and community facilities. Access and capacity improvements would also impact numerous commercial properties, community facilities and major employers, so the team worked closely with stakeholders and developers to create a win-win project.

TxDOT awarded the U.S. 380 Collin County Feasibility Study the runner-up spot for the 2020 Environmental Achievement Award for outstanding public involvement.

After the conclusion of the study project, TxDOT selected our team to lead two breakout projects through the schematic and environmental phase. This entails concurrent environmental impact statement (EIS) projects in the central portion of the county, including the rapidly developing area around the City of McKinney. One of the breakout EIS projects, for Spur 399, was completed in record time, with the project team receiving the Record of Decision (ROD) within 26 months, a state of Texas record.